Is the Pilot House designed to be removed?

[rnummi]

Thanks JT, that was a great post and confirmed a lot of what I observed. It also made me think this is how they made the various iterations of the Albin small trawler hull. The SC, etc. There's a 27 hull in Dunedin that is "missing" the pilothouse all together. It uses an aluminum frame to hold the windows which in turn is bolted to deck. Makes it look like an Albin 26 motorboat. It has a canvas Bimini snapped to the aluminum frame. From the pilothouse down, it's an A27. In any event, I was appalled at how the pilothouse was attached on my 84. No 5200, no sealant whatsoever. In fact, you could spray a hose at the front joint and it would intrude at full force into the interior of pilothouse. The whole thing was attached by 24 2 1/2 inch SS screws. When I replaced the balsa core around the bottom of pilothouse w poured epoxy (I used taped wax paper slid under base) it gave me a solid material to through bolt to hull. It's now fastened securely w 5200 and ss screws. In retrospect, the better method would have been to pull liner and use bolts.

[rnummi]

I just thought of something else. I'm 6'2" I kept thinking if I only could raise the entire pilothouse 1 or 2 inches, it would be ideal. I didn't go down that road but seeing as you've removed yours, would it theoretically be possible to add a 1x1 out of starboard or some other material around the entire base (or alternatively extend the base of PH itself somehow)? im not an engineer so I kept it as designed. Sure looked like it wouldn't have been that big of a deal though.

Q2: where are the wires from the light, wipers etc. Routed on yours? Mine were directly to the right of shift/throttle lever.

[JT48348]

Yes it's possible to raise the pilothouse as you describe. Starboard is not the material to use. Starboard can't be glued and doesn't take sealant well. Coosa board layered up to the desired height would work fine.


With the liner removed it's also possible and easy to through bolt the pilothouse to the deck.

My wires were run through the right fwd corner post internally. I prefer everything where I can access it so I'm running pilothouse wires externally.

[tego]

Howdy Rick & JT. The later boats (at least the '87s) were built with a molded flange at the base of the wheelhouse wall and front and then secured to the upper deck with 5200 and ss screws at 6" intervals. After I saw how Ricks was done, I pulled a side trim strip off on mine and checked the joint. I think you could lift my boat with a line thru my wheelhouse windows. Ben

[sail149]

Ben
I never saw that flange before , sounds so much better.....
Any photos?

[sail149]

I missed , somehow, your photos JT. Really major!
I defiantly do not have any sort of flange on my pilot house sides or front like Ben reports , (any photos Ben)
In fact I'm not sure how my pilot hours is attached at the sides.
For the front there is the rise of the main deck it is screwed into .so screws in shear , sort of.
But the sides? Is it just screwed to the wood cleat on the inside?
Is the top of the deck rise for pilot house just a flat surface?
Warren

[tego]

Warren, No, I don't have any photos of the flange. I just was curious about the crappy attachment on Ricks wheelhouse so I pulled the cover strip on my side and lo and behold, the cover strip is a piece of teak, "L" shaped except on the ends. It covered a substantial molded flange on the wheelhouse bottom that was "screwed and glued" to the top of the cabin. It appears Albin finally got their stuff together by '87. The other major difference I noticed was the 45 degree cutoff of the head cabinet edge that makes a major difference in "throne " access. Overall, I am impressed with the construction of these later models compared to the earlier ones. Ben

[sail149]

Ben
Thanks the flange sounds so much better, it's almost like the pilot house was an after thought. I just found out they did make version without a pilot house.
There was defiantly quite a few up grades an changes between 85 and 87 , there don't seem to be very may 86 on the list so maybe slowing of initial sale rush allowed them time to do some updates.
I was documenting all the changes but lost a computer load of data to a ransom ware hijack so no longer have my list.
Does you boat have the modified galley? I think yours is too early and but the later 90's for sure had the large double stove removed and replaced with a single stove on top of the old ice box and a fridge below the countertop.
If I get finished with important things I will make a similiar change , at the very least the the double stove is gone.!

[sail149]

JT
Your picturers in "A27 engine room" refit answered my question about the flat top of main deck to the pilot house iconnection.
Not much there!
I assume you boat does not have the under engine liner?
I don't think the longer 6 cyl engines had it.

[JT48348]

I have the under engine pan liner. In reality it's a fiberglass liner glassed between the engine mounts slightly above the bilge. Very robust. You can see it in my engine refit photos

[Vic K]

I don't know if this helps any but here is a ohoto of the pilothouse joint on my 84. It was just held on with 5200. a couple of screws and a lot of luck. I ended up glassing the connection.

Vic

[Beta Don]

My boat did not have (and still doesn't) the teak trim covering the pilothouse to deck joint. The pilothouse is so well fitted to the deck that there is about a 3/16ths 'seam' of 5200 between the deck and the pilothouse all the way around. On Rick's boat, there was room to stick your fingers between that joint - The pilothouse didn't mate up well with the deck at all

Several variations among early and later boats

Don

[rnummi]

I went back through my project pics to give the group some evidence of what was necessary to fix the delaminated mulched pilothouse core. You can see in the pic the side of the pilothouse just resting on the hull joint. I had to slide wax paper under the entire length to create a solid base of poured epoxy. It had literally mulched from window opening to joint. Had this not been the first project in restoration I would have probably just given up. I was still in the "honeymoon" phase and just did it. If I had waited till today, I would have realized there was no way to save the pilothouse. The entire outer skin from 6 inches below the overhead/PH joint was rotten and delaminated. With the help of 3 gallons of West System, 100 clamps from HD, a couple of fence slats that could be slid in from the back edge of PH, and just a ornery attitude of "it's not going to beat me"... The PH is good (if not considerably better) as new. Balsa core completely replaced with epoxy. Rock solid. Mercedes Benz "thunk" when you tap it. There's always a reason when a boat sells for next to nothing.

[JT48348]

Your description of pilothouse rot sounds like the worst so far. But your repair is impressive.

I checked my pilothouse when I pushed it forward and got under the bottom edge and flange. I had no rot or delamination. But then again my window openings had only the smallest amount of rot.

This indicates to me two extremes. The more and longer it leaks up top the more likely problems at the pilothouse base. If you catch the window rot early before is completely delaminated skins you might save the bottom from rot.

Nice job

[Vic K]

If there's a 'Bad Pilothouse Joint" picture contest, Rnummi wins hands down.

Vic